


Desiderium

by NickiNoodle



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Bad Ending, F/F, F/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26245303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NickiNoodle/pseuds/NickiNoodle
Summary: With Ghost having chosen not to defeat the Radiance, and instead defeating the Hollow Knight, Hornet gets to think about what will be lost.Heed the tags. This is not a happy fic.Desideriumnoun- An ardent desire or longing- a feeling of loss or grief for something lost
Relationships: Grimm/Hornet (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Desiderium

**Author's Note:**

  * For [junoprentiss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/junoprentiss/gifts).



> Blame them for this :)

There was complete silence when she awoke. Blinking awake, she found herself resting on the ground of the main room of the Temple of the Black Egg. Something, unnaturally warm, was curled up against her. As she pushed herself upright, a small mewling sound revealed it to be Era, the Troupe Master's child.

As she comforted them, pulling them close to her chest and running her hand down their back in the way that she knew they loved so much, she tried to piece together exactly what had happened.

She'd gone into the Temple of the Black Egg to aid little Ghost in defeating the Radiance sealed within the Hollow Knight.

She'd pinned the Hollow Knight to the ground, so Ghost could strike with their nail that could enter dreams.

She'd watched their empty gaze stare back at her, unmoving.

She'd felt the bound knight shifting underneath her.

And then...

And then?

And then she'd awoken here, with only Era by her side, in the darkness.

The air was thick with the lingering stench of infection. The scent clogged up her airways, nausea turning her stomach. Forcing herself to stand, she rested Era between her horns. They were a little large to fit now, but she felt they needed the comfort.

...And maybe she desired their comfort, as well.

Barely able to see in the near pitch-blackness of the room, she made out an object lying abandoned near the center of the room. On closer observation, she could see it was the Hollow Knight's nail, resting on the ground.

Her leg bumped into something small and sharp as she approached closer. She grit her teeth, internally cursing at not checking the ground more closely. Bending down, she gripped the object by its handle, and pulled it in front of her for a closer look.

It was a nail, far smaller than the one lying on the ground before her - pure white, with intricate patterns detailing its surface.

Era exclaimed in excitement, taking off from her head and flying away. It was only Hornet's many, many years of practice at not reacting to surprises that kept her from dropping the nail to the ground. She could hear their mewling exclamations of joy a bit of the ways above her. Turning her gaze upright, she followed the noise to see exactly what it was that had gotten them so excited.

A feeling of cold spread through her body, stomach twisting as her eyes came to rest on the still form bound in chains above her.

"Little Ghost? But how?" she whispered, shock turning to disbelief, and disbelief to dread. 

"Little Ghost?" She called out louder now, hoping for some reaction. 

But a reaction never came.

Era was pulling at the Knight's cloak, excited mewlings becoming progressively more and more distressed as the Knight failed to react to their efforts.

"Era, come here," she said, keeping her voice as even as possible as she rested the Knight’s nail on the ground. "Little Ghost needs their rest."

Era flew down to her and came to rest in her outstretched hands, grumbling in protest.

"I know, I know,“ she chuckled, rubbing her thumbs against their chin. “Here, wait on the floor beside me for a moment."

Once they were safely out of the way, Hornet pulled her needle from her back and launched it with all the force she could muster at the Knight. It collided with a seal of binding surrounding them with a clang, ricocheting off in another direction before clattering uselessly to the floor. The white light of the seal was so bright as to be nearly blinding in the pitch darkness of the room, showing for a brief moment the chains that surrounded the knight, anchored steadfastly to the floors and ceilings.

Gathering her needle, she took a swing at the base of one of the chains she'd seen previously illuminated. Her needle rebounded off of the binding surrounding the chain with a loud ringing noise, one that echoed unnaturally through the room. Subsequent swings had the same effect, and no use of silk made the chains move from their fastened positions.

It was no use. The chains wouldn’t budge. 

"...I am sorry, little Ghost," she sighed, unsure if they could even hear her. “I will have to return for you later.” 

Resting her nail back at her back, she peered around until she could vaguely make out the shape of the exit of the room in the distance. 

"Era? Come, let us leave this place."

She settled the child between her horns yet again, making her way out of the entrance of the room on the path towards the exit. As she made her way to the exit, heaviness began to tug at the corners of her eyes and the tips of her fingers. Every step began to feel more difficult, as though she was carrying an increasingly heavy weight upon her back.

She was halfway down the path, brilliant light beneath her feet revealing the massive door sealing the exit in the distance, when she realized Era had gone silent. 

She leaned her back against the door when she reached it, exhaustion tempting her eyes to close. Her labored breathing sounded far too loud in the complete silence as she rested a hand against the door, willing it to open. It remained unmoving before her. 

She slid to the ground, no longer able to stand. Pulling Era from her horns and cradling them against her chest, she fought the rising tears threatening to spill over. She rested her head against their own, fighting with everything she had to stay awake. 

Outside the door, she could sense the presence of someone standing there. A familiar presence, one she’d seen not long before she’d entered this Temple. 

“Troupe Master?” her voice was weak, and hoarse. 

The sound of muffled footsteps rapidly approached the door. 

“Hornet? Is that you?” his voice, unnaturally calm, came through the door, barely clear enough to understand. 

“....You waited.” 

“I promised I would, my dear spider.” 

A thick silence fell between them. Thoughts spun in Hornet’s head like tangled webs - she had so many things she’d wanted to say, and she couldn’t bring herself to say any of them. Whether from emotion, or sheer exhaustion, or the pressing darkness clouding her mind, she forced herself to gaze around the room before her as she thought of the right words to say.

How much hope she’d had, when she last entered this room. This room that had become her prison and would become her tomb. This room where she and her forgotten sibling would remain untouched, until the Radiance broke this vessel and used the last of their power to break through its doors.

Had the years she'd spent guarding Hallownest's walls, waiting for the one who would save it, truly gone so wasted? 

She suppressed the urge to laugh at her own foolishness. There were no place for these thoughts now. 

"Grimm." 

"Yes?"

She inhaled deeply, now fighting for each breath. 

"...I'm going to die here."

There was a brief silence on the other side, before the footsteps came closer. The sound of Grimm settling down on the other side, behind the door, echoed through her head like a lifeline. 

“Stay with me. Please.” she breathed, “Until the end.” 

“...I promise.” The emotion behind his words, grief and desperation thinly masked under his usual casual tone, broke the dam holding back her tears. Clutching Era’s still form to her, burying her head against theirs, she sobbed not for herself, but for the loss of her kingdom. She cried for the loss of hope, for the broken hearts that would remain, for her own failure. For the years lost, and memories that would fade with their passing. 

“Do not cry, my dear spider. Rest. I will be with you when you wake.” 

Her eyes slid closed. A pleasant lie, one she chose to believe, as foolish as it may be. 

“I love you,” she whispered, as the darkness began to press in on her mind and quiet her thoughts.

“And I love you, dearest wife.” 

A warm flutter crossed her chest at the words, biting through the cold that had begun setting in, but it was gone as soon as it had arrived. It was cold. So cold. And the darkness promised warmth and comfort. 

She could barely make out the sound of words on the other side of the door, as she fell into unconsciousness.


End file.
